Dallas To Get $800M European-Style Water Park, Wellness Resort
A European company known for its massive wellness-focused resorts plans to spend $800M to bring one of its first U.S. facilities to the Metroplex.
Therme Group reached an agreement with developer Jack Matthews and his company, Matthews Southwest, to purchase 24 acres in the Cedars area of Dallas, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The resort operator with four locations in Romania and Germany offers pay-as-you-go retreats with water park features, saunas, dining, exercise facilities, and arts and culture programming. Plans for the 450K SF Dallas resort include 20 different kinds of saunas, mineral pools, water slides, immersive artwork, multiple restaurants and 5 acres of outdoor pools and attractions.
In addition to the wellness resort, New York-headquartered The Georgetown Co. plans to construct a hotel on the 24-acre development near 1500 S. Riverfront Blvd.
Therme Group formed a joint venture last month with The Georgetown Co. for the ownership and development of its U.S. business. The companies announced plans to build 10 projects of around 500K SF each in key U.S. cities.
Washington, D.C., was announced as the first U.S. location last week, but Therme US Executive Chairman John Alschuler told the DMN that the Dallas facility will open around the time groundbreaking work starts there, making it the first operational resort in the U.S.
Therme Group also has plans for locations across Asia, Europe and Canada.
The City Plan Commission could see plans for the Dallas project later this year, with Therme Group targeting a 2030 opening date for the resort.
“We want to save health and well-being from becoming a luxury product and accessible only to the wealthiest people in the United States,” Alschuler told the DMN. “We want to contribute to making this community a more economically equitable place.”
Construction costs for the U.S. resorts are estimated at $500M, although Therme Group officials said the company could spend an additional $300M on interest, design fees and purchases related to the project.
The company plans to apply for economic incentives to offset the development of the resort. Tax revenues generated by the Dallas facility, which will create more than 1,000 permanent jobs, could reach $1.8B over the first 30 years.
Alschuler said the resort could average around 1.8 million visitors per year.
Allen could also see the opening of a huge water park in 2030, as city officials are in talks with Kalahari Resorts & Conventions for a 123-acre site. Initial plans for the project call for a 1.1M SF indoor-outdoor water park, a separate indoor family entertainment center, a 912-room hotel, a 165K SF convention center and 14 to 16 food and beverage outlets.
